posted 02-10-2010 06:41 PM
Rachel Hobson writes for Make about the enthusiast-designed, NASA-adopted LEGO model kit commemorating the launch of the agency's new solar satellite.

[John Knight's] latest Lego project is smaller in scale, but has reached a much larger audience.

He used Lego's Digital Designer, a tool that lets people create virtual sets, to create a set based on the Solar Dynamic Observatory that will be launched this week from Kennedy Space Center. SDO will study the solar atmosphere to help us better understand the sun's influence on Earth and near-earth space.

John's set is a scale replica of SDO, and after working with the SDO team and representatives from Lego, the set was accepted for a much larger order than standard virtual kits (that can be ordered three at a time if parts are in stock) and is now available for purchase through the Lego web site.